State officials said building a new Tappan Zee Bridge took a step forward Thursday as an application for a $2 billion federal loan was put on a short list of projects.

But the new bridge didn’t win the first round of funding. The Journal News reported that the U.S. Department of Transportation said five projects had been selected to apply for Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program, which provides 35-year loans at low-interest rates.

New York is seeking as much as a $2 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the roughly $5.2 billion span across the Hudson River between Rockland and Westchester counties.

State officials said the federal government recently awarded about $100 million to smaller projects across the country, but the Tappan Zee Bridge application was among six transportation projects that would get an expected review once Congress reauthorizes federal highway funding.

“We are very pleased that the Tappan Zee has been placed on a short list of six projects that will undergo an expedited review process for funds immediately after federal transportation reauthorization,” Thomas Madison, executive director of the Thruway Authority, said in a statement.

“We understand that in light of current financing constraints, the US DOT has prioritized smaller projects that are further along in development and required immediate financing in this first round.”

In October, the Obama administration named a new Tappan Zee Bridge as one of 14 projects nationwide that would receive an expedited federal review and approval.
The Thruway Authority, which owns the current 56-year-old span, filed paperwork in December to apply for the $2 billion federal loan.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made a new bridge a top priority and has said the project would be funded through a combination of state, federal and private sources.

The state is hoping to start work late this summer. It estimates the bridge would be finished by 2017.

There was no immediate comment from the Federal Highway Administration on the next steps for the project’s application. State officials said they would continue to work on its full application to receive the $2 billion loan, but the application would be dependent on a funding plan agreed to by Congress.

Updated: Here’s a statement from Bill Adams, a spokesman from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“The TIFIA loan program is an ongoing process and the Tappan Zee bridge is one of the high priority infrastructure projects from around the country that has been chosen for expedited permitting and environmental reviews. We are currently compiling a reserve list of projects, including the Tappan Zee Bridge, that will be expedited if TIFIA receives more funding, but this depends on Congress providing the money. We are hopeful that Congress will provide additional funding. We also are encouraging applicants to reapply in the fall.”